Published 6:00 pm, Sunday, January 25, 2009

SIUE will get another chance against the Redhawks next Saturday at the Vadalabene Center. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The Cougars, now 7-14, first play Oakland City Tuesday at home with the game time set for 7:30 p.m. as well.

The Redhawks, which also are in year one of the transition to NCAA Division I status, finished 39 of 57 from the field and committed just 10 turnovers to improve their season record to 12-6. Seattle’s Chris Gweth shot a perfect 9 for 9 from the field with four three-points, finishing with a game-high 29 points. Michael Wright added a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds for Seattle.

“I give them credit,” said SIUE coach Lennox Forrester. “They made good shots. We just didn’t play well tonight on team defense.”

Seattle pounded the ball in the paint for 52 of its 99 points.

The Cougars, who shot 47.4 percent from the field, connected on a season-best 14 three-pointers with four each from Mark Yelovich and Barry Wellington.

“Those guys played well,” said Forrester.

Yelovich led the Cougars with a season-high 25 points followed by 18 from Wellington. Brandon Dunson tossed in 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Aaron Garriott added 10.

SIUE watched its three-game winning streak snapped in the Pacific Northwest. The Cougars get a rematch against the Redhawks next Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Vadalabene Center but meets Houston Baptist first Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Seattle shot 52.3 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three-point range against the Cougars. The Redhawks drained 11 three-pointers in the game.

“We didn’t play disciplined on defense,” said SIUE coach Amanda Levens. “Our intensity was better at the beginning of the second half.”

Seattle led from start to finish against the Cougars. The Redhawks improved to 11-7 while the Cougars fell to 4-17.

Jenny Wuest led the Cougars with 14 points despite struggling from the field on 5-of-17 shooting. The Cougars shot 30.9 percent from the field as a team.